1947 Champions Cup

The 1947 Champions Cup was the first official Champions Cup game, held to determine the winner of the 1947 NERC Season. The Hempstead Clippers, looking to defend their 1946 title, faced off at corner park against the Boston Riders, who were looking for their first championship.

The Riders, despite being down by 6 after 1 quarter, pulled away in the third and survived a late Hempstead comeback to win their first ever Champions Cup title.

Opening
It was a beautiful day in Staten Island, and Corner Park was the place to be on this warm August day, with the Manhattan skyline setting the backdrop to the NERC’s first official championship game. Taking the field to battle it out were the #1 Hempstead Clippers, who went 7-2-1 in addition to going unbeaten in the round-robin, and were the favourites going in to this one. On the other end were the #2 Boston Riders, who went 7-3-0 in the regular season, and 1-1 in the round-robin. Hempstead won the first meeting between these two teams at home 23-15, while Boston won the second meeting in Boston, 23-19. Around half of the crowd consisted of Hempstead supporters, while the remaining half was equally split between neutrals and Boston supporters.

First Quarter
Boston won the opening jump-ball and controlled the ball for the first bit of the game. 2:21 in, they would get the game’s first point, off a scramble in front that eventually rolled wide right. Boston continued pressing, and before long, LWC Joe Manush kicked the game’s first goal, a high shot that Hempstead’s Sam Albrek could do nothing about. However, just 4 minutes later, Albrek came all the way back up the field and scored a goal of his own, getting the Clippers on the board. The pace would slow down a bit, then a flurry of action saw the two teams exchange points, and Hempstead would then take the lead on a goal from Allen Formock. Charlie Norris had a great chance to get the lead right back, but his close-range shot missed for his second point of the game. Before the end of the quarter, Hempstead got a rare fullback goal, from James Addison. It had been an entertaining first 24 minutes, and the Clippers were looking like the better team heading into the second.

AFTER 1: Boston 7-13 Hempstead

Second Quarter
The second quarter was much slower than the first. Formock had a beautiful chance, but Boston’s Paul Barson got a hand on it and prevented any score. From that point, most of the play involved multiple turnovers in the midfield. Norris would hit a post a while later, but the ball stayed in play for no score. Eventually, at the halfway mark of the quarter Norris got a shot to go, kicking the ball with perfect placement past Robert Lucas to put the lead to 2. However, right off the bounce, Albrek would carry the ball himself and kick a point to make it 14-11 for the Clippers. Unfortunately for those watching, that would pretty much be all the excitement the quarter would hold. The remaining 11 minutes featured what was seen at the beginning, clumsy play, and the ball being stuck in midfield. The quarter and half would come to a close, and the same 14-11 scoreline held up. The game was still far from over.

AT THE HALF: Boston 11-14 Hempstead

Third Quarter
To the delight of those watching and listening, the third quarter was much more entertaining than the second. First, Clippers LF Abram Bergling would convert a penalty shot. 1 minute later, Boston’s Charles Addison would get on the scoresheet to cut the lead right back to 3. After a bit of a lull, Boston would get back on offense, scoring another point and getting another goal from Norris to take their first lead since the first quarter. However, after the Norris goal, Hempstead would counter with a period of possession of their goal, though they only managed two points out of it. Alberk drew a penalty shot, but he amazingly missed the net completely, wasting a golden opportunity to take the lead. After that, the quarter ended with quite possibly the greatest last 3 minutes in NERC history. A wild scramble in front led to multiple shots and saves, though Charles Addison finally kicked a loose ball home to give Boston the lead back. Off the ensuing bounce, Boston drove the ball back down field, and Norris finished, kicking his third of the game. The scoring still wasn’t over, as Hempstead would do the exact same play the Riders had just done, with Alfred Hazare being the finisher. With the pace quickly increasing, the final quarter was sure to be electric.

AFTER 3: Boston 28-24 Hempstead

Fourth Quarter
The start of the fourth quarter saw the quick and frantic pace continue, with Boston kicking a point less than a minute in, putting them up by more than a goal. Hempstead came right back, and got several chances blocked before Albrek kicked his second of the game, putting the Clippers within one. After the goal, Boston coach Walter Duncan elected to utilize a defensive press, making the remaining 21 minutes of the game relatively boring, since as soon as Boston would recover the ball, they would just kick it back upfield. The Clippers still managed to get possession in deep, but couldn’t get any real good chances. With 7 minutes to play, Albrek kicked a dangerous cross, but nobody was there to connect to it. As Hempstead grew more and more desperate, their play became more and more sloppy. In the final minute, James was given a beautiful chip to go in alone, but he couldn’t contact a rolling ball hard enough, and Robert Lucas made the easy save. The final whistle blew soon after, and the Boston Riders celebrated, as they had just won their first NERC title, winning the first official NERC Championship game. FINAL SCORE: Boston 29-28 Hempstead